“THIS GUY, HE’S GOT STORIES!”
PHYSICIANS ON THE FRONT LINE
AUTHOR James Patrick Murphy, MD
M
y teenage son Kellen, a bit star-
tled by this stranger’s enthusi-
asm, returned a look, with equal
parts joy and disbelief. We were
at the Smithsonian Air and Space
Museum. Before us in one-hun-
dredth scale glory was an elev-
en-foot exact replica of the aircraft carrier USS
Enterprise. She had been my ship during my stint in the Navy. And,
as we soon learned, she had been the friendly stranger’s ship as well.
“A flight surgeon! Oh, man!” He said, placing his hand on my
shoulder like an old friend and locking his eyes on Kellen like a
laser-guided missile. “Do you know how cool that is? Has he told
you any sea stories?”
Subsequent to that prompt, the rest of our weekend was indeed
rife with a sea story or two or three. It was late summer 2015, just
before Kellen’s junior year of high school, on the cusp of beginning
his serious college search. The underlying reason for this father-son
road trip to Washington, DC was so that Kellen could visit and tour
the US Naval Academy.
as my dad, and, wouldn’t you know, was wearing a USS Des Moines
hat. Come to find out, this man was on the ship during the same
time as my dad, however he couldn’t recall meeting my dad. But
that didn’t matter. My patient and I immediately felt connected to
each other on a deeper level than before.
Like most physicians, I have hung on my wall a collection of
diplomas and citations meant to give my patients a better under-
standing of their doctor’s credentials. Without a doubt, my certificate
of graduation from flight surgeon training gets the most scrutiny
and comments. When I chose to hang that document in my hall-
way, I had no idea that it would stand out in such singular fashion
and mean so much to so many of my veteran patients. For them,
knowing that I have worn the uniform in service to our country
makes me, in a way, part of their extended family. They are more
apt to open up to me, to trust me, to allow me to help.
I could write a thousand pages and still not adequately describe
all of the ways in which serving in the United States Navy has been
positive for me. The common experience of military service that I
share with service men and women has given me another family
that I can claim as my own.
Flashback to the summer of 1988: the USS Enterprise was re-
turning from her six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. For the
final three days of the cruise, ship’s company were allowed to bring
on board a male guest, e.g. father, son or brother, for the last leg of
the journey from Seattle to our homeport in Oakland. At that time,
women were not allowed to serve on combatant vessels, so it was
just us guys. It was called the Tiger Cruise, and my tiger was my dad. As for Kellen, he never applied for the Naval Academy, and that’s
perfectly fine with me. He is his own person and must choose his
own path. However, I will tell you that he is pre-med at college -
another topic for another time. And, while I hesitate to write this,
lest he feel any perceived pressure of my expectations, I’ll have to
admit, it warmed my heart to see what he wrote in his bio for his
job as a university tutor:
Back in his Navy days, circa 1954, my dad served as an Elec-
trician’s Mate aboard a heavy cruiser, the USS Des Moines. Now 34
years later, he was the honored guest of his son, the “Attack Doc”
Flight Surgeon on history’s most powerful seafaring vessel, the USS
Enterprise. I was so proud to watch my dad walk those hazy-gray
steel corridors, dine in the Officers’ Mess, and rub shoulders with
my shipmates. It was as happy as I had ever seen him. He has since
his passed on, and that Tiger Cruise remains one of my most cher-
ished memories. “I hail from the faraway land of Louisville, Kentucky which is
kind of Midwest and kind of Southern, so I think I’m both...If you’re
interested, I am pre-med, and I’d like to be a flight surgeon in the
Navy like my old man.”
It’s been 30 years since I left active duty military service to enter
civilian private practice. I’m now a pain medicine specialist and often
see patients who are contemporaries of my parents. Not so long ago,
I was meeting a new patient who I noticed was born the same year
Yes, I have stories.
Dr. James Patrick Murphy is the president and founder of Murphy Pain Center, an
Assistant Clinical Professor with the University of Louisville, and is a past president
of the Greater Louisville Medical Society. Once upon a time he was a United States
Naval Flight Surgeon for Carrier Air Wing Eleven on board the aircraft carrier USS
Enterprise.
NOVEMBER 2019
21